Friday, August 31, 2007

Irish-American Traumatised by City Hall Flag

The latest from Máirtín Ó Muilleoir:

I hosted the visit to Belfast yesterday of an important San Francisco entrepreneur who is giving some thought to investing some of his dollars here. With the sub-prime crisis in the US, there are clear opportunities here for US investors, notwithstanding the weakness of the dollar vis-a-vis the pound.

However, this Irish American is clearly motivated because of the new dispensation and the changed atmosphere in the North post-peace. Imagine his annoyance then to spot the 'butcher's apron' atop City Hall as I took him on a walking tour of City Hall.


Ah poor diddums, must have been horrible for him; I hope he doesn't fly back through Heathrow, they're quite shameless about flying the nation's flag there, could push our sensitive "investor" right over the edge.

Also, Marty must have failed to point out in the "new dispension and the changed atmosphere in the North" it’s not very nice to denigrate themmuns’ symbols. We are living in changed times, you know, and "butcher’s apron" is no longer appropriate terminology, what with "parity of esteem" and all that -a concept that obviously is taking its time to filter through to the more "traditional" corners of Irish America.

Moving on....

"I thought that type of thing had ended," he said

What type of thing?
British Occupation of the Six Counties?
No, sorry to shatter your illusions, army's "gone home", but it is still very much "occupied" by a majority British population.

I suspect one investor was lost this week, unconvinced that his hard-earned money wouldn't be going into a sectarian cesspool

If an "investor" is lost because he is offended by the flag of the United Kingdom...is he really the kind of "investor" that we want here, in our wee sectarian cesspool?

The many, many (very welcome) businessmen from the Republic of Ireland presently investing in our wee sectarian cesspool seem to have no such aversion to certain coloured pieces of cloth; I think they stay because making money is more important to them, to be honest, than being offended by the displays of national identities other than their own.

But Máirtín's on a roll, The Hun up the Antrim coast have also been upsetting him...

Put it another way: how many shops and cafés are losing trade along the Antrim coast this summer because of union jacks flying from lamposts and flagpoles in very godforsaken unionist hole in the wall?

As part of the Antrim coast road includes places like Cushendun, Cushendall and Ballycastle, places where you are extremely unlikely to see the Union flag, or even a "godforsaken" unionist for that matter, I really think Marty is getting his knickers in a twist needlessly here. If vistors are really that disturbed by the Union flag in one hamlet, they’ll drive along 5 miles to the next one, for their café moccas and dulse. They might even get a nice "green, white and gold" flying outside, but only if they’re really lucky.

It'll be interesting to check the tourist figures for this season, just to see how this "flag factor" has impacted. Any bets on a bumper season?

2 comments:

Owen Polley said...

The usual hypocritical, sectarian bile from Miller. Republicans have never made and will not never make an attempt to respect the unionist community or their symbols. They will continue to demand respect whilst according none.

O'Neill said...

Along with Feeney the most bigotted journalist operating on either side of the border today. I'm convinced Feeney is putting on an act, the man is a genuine intellectual, I've seen him on BBC World on several occasions and been impressed with his objective analysis...but put him in the Irish News and it's sub-Daily Mailhate stuff appealing to the lowest common denominator amongst his readership. No idea why he does it.

Marty, on the other hand, is the genuine article.